Web posted
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Candidate for sheriff still sees need for change
By ROY GRABER
Courier Editor
Randy Emerson ran for the office of Cowley County Sheriff four years ago, stating he wanted to see some changes made.
Although many of the changes he wanted have happened since he was defeated by incumbent Bob Odell in 2004, Emerson still thinks improvements to local law enforcement can be made.
Emerson filed for the sheriff's position earlier this week, making him the second candidate. Don Read, Odell's undersheriff, has also filed.
Odell has announced his intention to retire when his term is completed in January 2009.
Emerson, a 1990 law enforcement academy graduate, has six years of law enforcement experience. He served as deputy for the Pratt County Sheriff's Department, interim police chief in Udall and police chief in Douglass.
"I was in law enforcement before, but I got out of it when I came back (to Cowley County)," Emerson said. "I just always missed it, and what better way to come back than in the top spot?"
Emerson said he hopes to bring some of his managerial and organizational skills to the office. For the past 12 years, he has been the executive director of Winfield Housing Authority. He also serves as the director of disaster services for the Cowley County Red Cross, and he is a national safety and security supervisor for the American Red Cross.
When Emerson sought the sheriff's office in 2004, he stated that he wanted to have the jail at its current location, but he also wanted to change the deputies' work to allow better coverage.
Other changes he sought were to have an outside agency provide better meals for the jail and more accountability of the funds. He also stressed purchasing patrol vehicles locally whenever possible.
Emerson acknowledged those changes have all been made, but he hopes for more.
One area in which he hopes to see improvement is to have resource officers working in county schools.
While Winfield and Arkansas City already have police officers in their schools, Emerson said he would want to see the sheriff's department develop better relationships with county schools such as Dexter, Central and Udall.
He also wants to have more visibility at community activities such as the Walnut Valley Festival, the Cowley County Fair, the Winfield Country Roundup and high school and college sporting events.
"(Sheriff's department officers) can definitely work at the fair and at Bluegrass as the police officers do, and I'd encourage them to stop in and walk around at different ball games while they are on patrol, even if it's just to say hi. That should be part of the patrol," Emerson said.
A rising drug problem is also a concern of Emerson's.
"I will work hard to reduce this problem," he said. "I want to see the county have a SWAT team, especially with some of the recent incidents such as the shooting at 14th and Main in Winfield. We need to be better prepared and equipped to handle these incidents. We need to have a team made up of officers from each county department to work together for safe entry of homes to serve search warrants."
Emerson also wants to look at the feasibility of using inmate labor to help reduce the work loads of county workers in other departments.
Both Read and Emerson have filed as Republicans. In the 2004 election, Emerson ran as a Democrat, but he said he did so to extend his campaign. He said he's been a lifelong Republican, however, and decided to stay true to his political roots.
Emerson and Read will face off during an Aug. 5 primary. The general election will be Nov. 4, according to Cowley County Clerk Karen Brooks. No other candidates for sheriff or any other county office had filed as of Thursday afternoon, Brooks said.
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